Fakiru Week 2015
by Rhubarbara
Summary: Day 7 - Partners. In which Ahiru checks in on him and Fakir has some questions.
1. Violet

It had become a regular thing for the two of them to go by the lake when the weather was good. And today was no different.

Life had pretty much gone back to normal. With the story over and the walls destroyed, people were free to move in and out of the town once more, though most of the inhabitants chose to stay in Kinkan town. Old habits die hard, Fakir supposed, even when one didn't remember the reason behind the habit in the first place.

As for our young heroes? With the story finished, Fakir and Ahiru were content with going back to their true selves. Him a boy and her a duck. And they were happy, for a while. Until Fakir noticed the sad look in her eyes, the change in her once perky demeanour and the dampening of her spirits. She missed the life she had, yearned for it even, and it showed. And so he decided then and there to write her a story whether she hated him for it or not. And she did, for a while. But when her anger had subsided and she had realised what he had given her, she was overjoyed, thankful even. And so he and Charon prepared the guest room, enrolled her back at the academy and things returned almost exactly to how they were before.

And that is why we find them where they are now, sitting under a large oak tree on a lazy midsummer afternoon.

After finishing a chapter of his book, Fakir noticed the unusual silence and general calmness in the air. He frowned, looked up and saw Ahiru, facing away and hunched over something.

"What on earth are you doing?"

She quacked, startled by him, before turning around. "Trying to make a flower-chain, Lilie taught me." But in her hands lay more of crumple of flowers than a chain. She let out a defeated sigh. "I'm not really getting it."

And good God was she right, he thought. She had been using wild violets, they always grew around the lake that time of year, and she was sitting in the middle of a patch of them. Vibrant and abundant, a bunch now lay in tatters in her tiny hands.

He gave an exasperated sigh before putting his book down and scooting down towards her near the edge of the shade.

"Look, you do it like this." He took the flowers from her and she watched in amazement as he began to make quick work of them, his fingers tucking and tying swiftly and gracefully. Not so long after and decent-length chain was forming before her very eyes.

"How'd you get so good at this?" She asked, all the while transfixed on his hands.

"Raetsel and me used to make them when we were little. All the kids would come down here during the summer. Was a pretty decent way to pass the time."

The image of a green haired little boy flashed by in her mind. It was so hard to picture Fakir as anything but the way he was now. Sometimes she doubted if he ever had been a little kid at all. Still, the idea of a little baby-faced Fakir did bring a smile to her face.

"What are you smiling about?" He frowned. Why was she always like this?

Ahiru realised that's she'd been so busy daydreaming that she hadn't even noticed he was nearly done and now he was looking at her like she was a crazy person. She waved him off. "Oh, nothing important."

Unconvinced but deciding to move past it, he tied off the ends.

"And there." He said before basically dropping it on her head.

"How does it look?" She asked as she fixed it into place.

"You're the prettiest the girl in town." He replied, uninterested, already leaning back up against the tree and picking up his book.

"Is that all?"

He looked up, "What? Isn't that a nice thing to say?"

"Well, I dunno. I guess I thought, what with the writing and the books and all, you'd be a bit more creative with your compliments." She shrugged, playing with the end of her braid.

"And I thought you knew when to quite whilst you're ahead."

Her entire body seemed to droop as she pouted at him. "Point taken."

With her newfound knowledge, she returned to her original position, crossed-legged and facing towards the lake and set to work. After a bit of trial and error, she finally got the hang of it, soon producing her own considerable length of chain. It may have lacked the uniformity of Fakir's one, the kind that comes from years of practice, but it had a certain charm.

"Finished!" She proudly proclaimed as she scooted over to him.

He evaluated her creation. "Much better than your first one, that's for sure" He shrugged as he went back to reading.

She gave him a dirty look. "Well jokes on you, because this one's your's." And before he could protest she was already in front of him and placing it on his head. "There, we match." She beamed as she fixed his hair. "The handsomest boy and the prettiest girl." She let out a laugh before sitting down on his left and starting on another one while Fakir tried to ignore the blood rushing to his cheeks.

He wanted to tell her so many things, more than she would ever know. How beautiful her eyes looked in this speckled sunlight. How he could spend hours counting the freckles that only continued to multiple on her face. How he'd always wanted to see her with her hair down, as idiotic as that may have sounded. That the colour violet suited her. And that he meant it when he said he'd stay by her side forever if she'd have him.

But alas he was just a teenage boy, and a stubborn one at that, so in the end all he could muster was flustered "Moron" and hasty and shake of his head.

Ahiru didn't say anything. She just smiled softly to herself as she leaned against him, happily working away. He didn't need to say anything, she already knew. And for now, that was enough.

And when the two of them come in hours later, arm in arm wearing matching crowns of violets on their heads, Charon doesn't question it.


	2. Accident

Ahiru couldn't really tell you how it happened. Frankly she still wasn't entirely sure of the details either. It was all a kind of blur. Which is exactly what she told Fakir when he came to find the state of both her and the kitchen.

There was flour was on every visible surface. The stove, the floor, the bread-bin, it was even in her hair. It was like a bomb had gone off while he was at Autor's.

Fakir pinched his nose as they stood in the middle of this catastrophe. "Okay, walk me through it one more time. What. The actual. Hell?"

But Ahiru just stood there, catatonic and spluttering some nonsense about "Cookies-and a-bird-everywhere-the bowl-the feathers-the flour-I-"

Fakir put his hands on her shoulders and shook her back into reality. "Hey! Snap out of it!" How this was the same girl who was once Princess Tutu escaped him.

Having recovered her senses a bit, Ahiru took a deep breath. "So I was making the cookies when I realised how hot it would be with the oven on and the steam so I decided to open the window."

"And then what?"

"So everything's going fine, I'm about to put them in the oven. That's when I see him."

"Who? See who?"

" _Ernie_." she replied, the disdain obvious in her voice.

He frowned. "Ernie? Who the hell is Ernie? Did some guy come in here? Did he hurt you? Are you-"

"No no no no no." She shook her head, cutting him off. "Ernie's a pigeon. He's sort of my mortal enemy." She explained, looking at him as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Fakir just blinked, speechless.

"So yeah, he saw me, came in through the window and then tried to take a jab at me. So I grab a spoon and I'm trying to beat him

off and so we're fighting for a good few minutes and he has me up against the counter and I grab the first thing I can get my hands on and throw it at him. Turns out it's the bag of flour. He goes nuts and starts flapping about everywhere, calls me something I would not like to repeat and that's when I manage to force him back outside and slam the window down right in his smug beak." She shrugged. "So yeah, that's pretty much what happened."

Fakir just blinked again and this time managed to muster a confused "What?"

"We've hated each-other for years now. Back before I met you. Even after Drosselmeyer turned me into a girl he recognised me, would make my life a living hell. He's just the absolute worst. I'm surprised I've never mentioned him actually."

Fakir couldn't believe what he was hearing. She was serious. She was being deadly serious about this. "Your mortal enemy, is a pigeon?"

"Yes, pay attention." Now she was the one getting annoyed.

"H-h-how? Why?" He rested against the counter. This was a lot to take in.

Her face was almost menacing as she replied. "Because that slice of sourdough was mine and he knows it."

"Wow" he snorted. "Never realised you had this side to you."

She crossed her arms, offended. "You know I'm not like that. It's just that pigeons on the whole are jerks, Ernie in particular."

"Wow, I never realised that life as a bird had this much drama." He chuckled, she was kinda cute when she was mad.

"Hey, pigeons are not birds, they are rats with wings. I don't care what they tell you, it's the truth."

And that was when the absurdity of the situation finally hit Fakir. Maybe it was the state of the kitchen, or her, or just the fact she was at war with a friggin' pigeon but the next thing Ahiru knows Fakir is bent over laughing his guts out, wiping a tear from his eye and sighing.

"You're hilarious, I love you!"

The laughing stopped immediately, the both of them realising what he just said. Sure, they both knew that whatever they were was definitely not platonic, not after all they'd been through together. But that didn't mean they had ever addressed it. Or that either of them saw the L-word coming any time soon.

Finally Ahiru broke the silence by asking. "What did you just say?"

In a futile attempt to pretend like it never happened, he stood up straight. "I said you're hilarious." He turned away, hoping to hide the obvious blush that had broken out on his face. "Now come on, we'd better get this cleaned up before Charon gets back."

Ahiru didn't argue, keeping her distance as she followed him to get the cleaning supplies. They worked in total silence as she swept and wiped and scrubbed. It took a while but they were finally able to get the kitchen back to normal, they had even managed to salvage most of the yet-to-be-baked cookies.

Ahiru knelt in-front of the oven as she put in the final tray. "Hey, Fakir?" She asked nonchalantly, closing the oven-door as she did.

He didn't look up as he set to work washing the dishes. "Hm?"

"I uh, I think you're hilarious too." She kept her eyes focused on the oven-door as she softly added. "Like a lot."

Fakir went very still as she came up beside him and started drying the dishes. "I'm uh happy to hear that." He didn't look up.

Ahiru beamed as she kept her eyes on her hands. "Great."

"Good."

"Swell."

With the tension lifted, the fell into a contented silence, working happily side by side. Some things are better left unsaid.

But 20 minutes later when they eat Fakir suddenly squints and asks her.

"Wait, so is this why we're not allowed a birdbath?"

* * *

 **Happy day two of Fakiru Week 2015. Not sure which is meant to be the accident, the mess or Fakir's confession, both kinda. I'm actually considering doing a series chronicling the ongoing feud between Duck and Ernie the Pigeon, what do you think?Reviews are always welcome!**


	3. Slow

Fakir still didn't know how he had been dragged into this. He guessed it all started three weeks ago, when the ticket sales for Homecoming started.

It was all Mytho's fault really. He was the one who started going with Rue last year. He was the one who actually wanted to go to Homecoming. He was the one who could never say no to his conniving miscreant of girlfriend.

See it was all her idea to set this up. He was fine to go alone. Hell he didn't even wanna go that much in the first place. And wasn't like he didn't have any options, he was a handsome guy, he could've got a girl to go with him if he wanted to. He just didn't want to. But Rue's friend didn't get asked either and she's 'such a lovely girl' and the two of them 'would get along so well' and now here he is in the front seat of Mytho's car on their way to Rue's house to pick them up.

Ahiru Waters. She had moved there about 10 months ago. Fakir knew of her vaguely. They were in English together, he thinks. Nice enough girl, bit of a dope though. Always late and flustered, red hair in dishevelled braid. Yeah, maybe she was a little rough around the edges, but he couldn't really understand why no-one had asked her.

The car stopped, pulling him out of his thoughts. "We're here." Mytho opened the door waving to Rue as she came into the garden to meet them. Fakir was closing his own door behind him when Ahiru came out of the house, apologising about something to do with her purse.

Rue looked gorgeous, more so than usual. Her dark curls were pinned up on the top of her head, spilling down across her bare shoulders. And with the dark ruby off shoulder dress she was she looked like something out of a classic 1950's flick. Ahiru came up beside her in a strapless mint number that came down to her knees. "Sorry about that." She grinned.

Mytho kissed Rue's cheek. "We ready to go?"

"Pretty much, but Mom wants pictures."

And so they spent the next 20 minutes on Rue's front lawn posing in every god-damn position the woman could think of. Fakir raised an eyebrow at Ahiru as if to say "How much longer?" She just gave him a sympathetic shrug in response.

"My cheeks are going numb." He said through his teeth as the four of them stood with their arms around each-other.

Ahiru never took her eyes off the camera as she told him "They're our ride home."

"Good point."

Finally it was over and they were free to go. Rue lived ten minutes from Kinkan Highschool. Frankly, they could've walked it, but both the girls were in heels and they already had the car anyways. Rue and Mytho chatted away in the front while the two hanger-ons sat awkwardly in the back. Fakir stared out the window as Ahiru fiddled with the ends of her elaborate french-braid. They had nothing to say to each-other. Yeah they had spoken before, but nothing of real substance and never alone. Good God, this was going to be his whole wasn't it? He hated being the third-wheel. Scratch that, he hated the fact Mytho felt the constant need to try and set him up with people. He just didn't seem to understand the concept that a person could be alone without being lonely.

Ahiru finally spoke up, "Mytho, I forgot to say congrats about you guys winning the championships."

Ah, who could forget the Kinkan Knights victory against the Ravens? Led by none other than their star quarterback 'Prince' Mytho Siegfried.

"Thanks Ahiru." That was when Rue gave him a conspiring look. "But uh the real person you should be congratulating is Fakir. He's just taken the fencing team to state."

Ahiru turned to Fakir. "Really? Congratulations! That's so cool!"

"Yeah. It's not that big a deal." He shrugged, not really used to the attention. Half the school didn't realise they had a fencing team.

She grinned. "Are you kidding? It's a huge deal! You should be proud."

"Well uh thanks."

"Well you're very welcome."

And with that the two fell back into a more comfortable silence. And although neither of them could tell Rue and Mytho were sharing a knowing look.

You know, for the same place where Mr. Cat warned them with graphic of the dangers of unprotected sex, the Kinkan High-school gym cleaned up pretty nice. This year's theme was the very original 'A Night Under the Stars'. Massive black sheets covered the walls and bleachers while stars of varying sizes hung front the ceiling. By the main door stood a massive silver moon set piece for students to get their picture taken at. Confetti was scattered allover the place all in all giving the impression of a beautiful night sky.

After waiting to get their pictures taken yet again, they were finally able to find a table and put their stuff down. Ahiru had no sooner put the silver shawl she had been wearing on the table before Rue was dragging her off onto the dance-floor. Mytho waved them off as the two boys sat down.

Mytho glanced at Fakir. "So Ahiru's pretty nice isn't she?"

"Yeah, she's cool." Fakir unloosened his navy blue tie, not really paying attention.

Mytho sighed. He loved Fakir, he really did. He was like a brother to him. They'd known each-other since they were in kindergarten. Which is why he had the right to say "Look, I know you don't really want t one here but it wouldn't kill you to be a bit more civil. You could actually have some fun tonight. Hell you could even strike up a conversation with the girl." Fakir didn't reply. Mytho let out a sigh and gave him a couple of hearty claps on the shoulder as he stood stood. "Good talk buddy, now if you excuse me, I've needed a piss since Rue's house."

"Please keep me in the loop." Fakir called after him as he headed towards the door.

"I plan to!" Mytho waved back.

Some pop song blasted out from the speakers as the two girls danced hand in hand.

"So are you having fun yet?" Rue yelled above the music.

Ahiru nodded enthusiastically as she spun Rue around under her arm. It really was nice. Everyone looked so pretty and the decorations were amazing and Pique said they already had a betting pool going for how long it was until the punch got spiked (Rue had 5 dollars on 40 minutes). It looked like it was going to be a great night. She looked over to their table and saw Fakir talking to Lilie's date Autor, a bespectacled boy who kept mostly to himself. There were worse people to be thrown together with. At least they had something in common - neither of them were happy about the situation.

You see Ahiru didn't really want a date in the first place. She just wasn't interested in anyone and she didn't want to accidentally lead some poor guy on. So she told them that she was already going with someone. The problem with that plan was that she was left with the obviously non-existent date. That's when Rue suggested going as a foursome with Mytho's buddy Fakir. Problem solved.

And if their time at Rue's said anything it was the fact that they both had the same expectations for tonight. Absolutely squat.

Rue held her hands they swayed back and forth to the music. "I know you think we're just trying to force you guys together. But we're not. You're important to us and it only makes sense for the two of you to get along." She shrugged. "I'm not saying you'll be best friends with him, Christ knows I'm not, but Mytho stands by his belief that despite being rough around the edges he's a nice guy. You know, deep deep deep down." The two of them laughed at that. "Just try and get to know him, it's me dislikes not you."

Ahiru laughed it off. Rue was always complaining about her and Fakir's spats. It was kind of amusing after awhile. "You don't mean that.""

"I do, we have a rocky relationship at best." She nodded.

"Why?"

Rue's expression turned cold, "You do not want to know."

Ahiru did not push the subject any further.

His phone reads 8:30 when Ahiru finds him at their table.

"You having fun?"

He was going to say "what do you think?" But then he remembered Mytho's comment about being civil and kept it to himself. "Could be worse." He looked over at the punch-bowl. "They spiked it yet?"

She sat down beside him. "Not yet."

"Crap, I just lost five bucks."

She giggled.

"Where's Rue?"

She pointed to the middle of the dance floor. "Mytho stole her off me."

"The bastard." He said in mock indignation.

"I know right?" She reached across the table and grabbed her purse. She pulled out a variety of its content: her phone with its duck-covered case, a tune of lipstick, ticket stubs and stick of gum. Finally she pulled out a back of Hershey's kisses. She took one herself before offering the bag to him. "Want one?"

He chuckled and took a few. "You little rebel." He joked.

"I know. I'm disgrace to my family. It's really sad actually."

"Aw, I'm sorry to hear that."

She let out an overdramatic sigh."I know, but what can I do? A Hershey's kiss today, tomorrow a Red Vine. Where does it end?"

He popped another one in his mouth. So, she was funny. How was she friends with Rue again?

Ahiru started putting her stuff back in the purse. "You know I never mentioned it, but I really liked that short story you did for the assignment a few weeks ago."

He raised an eyebrow. "You did?"

"Yeah, you're really good."

"Well thanks."

"Do you write a lot?"

"Yeah, in my free-time."

"What do you write about?"

"Lots of things. People, places. I've kind of hit a patch of writer's block lately though."

She scanned the room. "You could write about here, about us." Her face lit up at the idea. "I could turn into a magical princess and fight evil with the power of dance."

He snorted at the mental image that was forming in his mind. "Seriously"

"Hell yeah, deadly serious. I'd read that."

He looked at her and smiled to himself. Mytho was right, she was a kind of fun to be around.

She wiggles her finger at him. "But when you become a bestseller I expect to be credited."

"Oh of course, I wouldn't dream of not doing so." He leaned towards her starting to play along in a totally platonic manner. "And what were you thinking of?"

She sat up straight and pushed her braid behind her shoulder, gaining confidence. "A dedication at the very least. Maybe a cut of the profit. Tickets to the movie premiere definitely."

He took her tiny hand and shook it. "Consider it done."

And for the next half an hour they discussed this magic princess of her's and her wacky adventures. Of course Mytho would be the handsome prince, saving the day. Rue would be a beautiful maiden, tragic and powerful, willing to give up her life for her loved ones. And Fakir would be the heroic sword-wielding knight, loyal to a fault. They'd fight monsters and shit, the details were still kinda sketchy on that front.

It was a story that was rather rough around the edges but then again so were they. Fakir found that he was actually enjoying himself. The girl was odd, no doubt about it, but she had a certain charm about her. They threw banter back and forth. He was definitely not flirting with her. And as they sat watching their classmates dance the thought strikes him.

"Hey." He looked up to the ceiling, his tone non-chalant as he asked. "You wanna dance?"

Ahiru blinked at him, mildly surprised and smiling, she shrugged. "Why the hell not?"

They music began to slow not long after they had come on to the dance-floor. It was one of those Sam Smith ones he thought, or at least something in that vein.

His left hand was on her waist and his right was in her and they began to move side to side. They made small chat for a while before falling into a comfortable silence. They stayed like that for awhile until she spoke up.

"Hey Fakir?"

"Hm?"

"Thanks." She kept her eyes on his tie, not looking him in the eye. "I've actually had a pretty good time tonight. And I just wanted to say thanks and stuff."

She couldn't tell in the dim light, but his cheeks turned a shade darker. "Don't mention it." He shrugs. "Besides, if the two of them hadn't orchestrated this, we'd never have come up with the idea for our kick-ass novel."

She grinned. "It is pretty kickass huh?"

"Miss Waters it will kick more ass than other book has before."

And at that Ahiru burst out into a fit of laughter, leaning her forehead against his chest. "My God we are such dorks."

"The dorkiest." He concurred, ignoring the burning of his skin.

Across the crowd, with Rue in his arms, Mytho spotted them and winked at him.

Fakir flipped him off.

When the clock strikes ten they're all ushered out of the gym and into the parking lot. They walked side by side as Rue and Mytho walked on ahead talking Lysander, the boy who one the betting pool at one hour and thirty-five minutes. They were nearly at the car when Ahiru casually mentions.

"You know, a bunch of us were gonna go to that Denny's on Main, if you wanted to come along."

He looked at this girl at his side, all blue eyes and freckles in the moonlight and he had to admit that he was pretty goddamn smitten. Not aloud. Not yet anyway. And so instead he just let out a laugh and said.

"Fuck it, let's go to Denny's."


	4. Noise

Fakir found her on the balcony.

Music from the band floated out into the night air. Inside the ballroom inhabitants of the kingdom danced to their heart's content. Tonight was a night of mass celebration. Royal weddings didn't happen everyday after all.

The view was amazing. She probably could've seen the entire kingdom in the daylight. And the palace gardens were so lovely, filled with fountains and rose bushes. Everything was all so peaceful here.

"I thought I'd find you out here."

Ahiru didn't look up, instead keeping her eyes on the garden as he came and joined her. "You having fun?"

She hummed in response, seeming content with the calmness. He leaned against the railing, watching the other party-goers. Clapping filled the room as the band finished playing and the newlyweds took their bows. Ahiru looked back over her shoulder. "They sure do make a lovely couple don't they?"

Fakir saw the look on their faces- the adoration, the mutual joy. It was good to see Mytho smiling like that, meaning it. "They sure do."

She smiled to herself. "It's nice that they found each-other."

"Yeah."

"And it was a lovely service."

He turned around, resting both arms against the railing like her. "Beautiful."

The band started up again, a gentle waltz. They remained there side by side, happy to just be in each-other's company. Fakir noticed the content look on her face. "Hey." He nudged her with his elbow. "What are you thinking about?"

She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, suddenly bashful. "It's nothing really. It's just, everything in my life is pretty much perfect right now. I'm just grateful is all." And it was true. School was great. Her dancing had improved. Raetsel and Hans had just had their baby, a beautiful little girl. Uzura was as cheerful as ever. All was well, in both Kinkan Town and there.

"I'm glad." That was when he noticed her shivering. What was she thinking? Wearing a ball gown outside? It was the final days of Summer. He started to take off his suit jacket. "Here." He came up behind her and put it over her bare shoulders. "You catch a cold."

She pulled the jacket up tighter, blushing slightly. "Thanks."

He rubbed his hands up and down her arms, trying to warm her up further. "Don't mention it." Convinced he had done a good enough job, he let his hands remain on her shoulders.

She put a hand over his, resting it on top of her shoulder. Leaning against his chest, she mulled over something she had been wondering about for a while now. "Do you ever think about it?"

He rested his chin on her hand. "About what?"

"Getting married."

He remained quiet for a moment, thinking about it. "I didn't used to. I was always so focused on protecting Mytho, I never thought I'd live long enough to consider it."

She looked up at him. "And now?"

"Yeah." He smiled. "It'd be nice, making a promise like that to someone."

"Anyone in mind?"

He sighed, wrapping his free arm around her waist. "Well, there is this one girl I know. Some redhead I met at school."

She snorted. "Oh really? What's she like?"

"Bit of klutz really." He shrugged. "Kinda ironic since she studies ballet. And she has these two psycho friends."

"Huh, sounds like a bit of a dope to me."

"Sometimes. But she's my dope. And she's not bad to look either."

She burst out laughing at that, burying her face into his chest. "She sounds like quite the catch."

"Yeah." He kissed the side of her head. "She is. "

Ahiru set her gaze back to the gardens as she told him. "Well I'm sure she'd be up for that, some day."

His arm tightened around her. "Yeah, some day." They stayed there like that for quite some time as the band kept playing on. Nothing was said between them, there was nothing that needed to be. Ahiru was right, things were pretty perfect at the moment.

Some time later she broke the silence by pointing it out. "They're probably missing us inside."

He didn't move or give any inclination that he planned to. "What's another five minutes?"

Ahiru hummed in approval. He had a pretty convincing argument. Guess that's what happens when you fall in love with a writer. They just had a way with words, it wasn't her fault. She was innocent, really. She closed her eyes, focusing on the sound of the band and the boy in her arms.

Yeah, life was good.


	5. Festival

Of course, on tonight of all nights they get separated. Typical.

* * *

It was the New Year's Eve Festival, and so pretty much everyone in town was out. Meaning it was near impossible to find someone. Let alone two someone's.

It all started when Ahiru realised that Uzura had wandered off. There were still one and a half hours to go until midnight. So they had decided that it was best to split up and look for her.

That was an hour ago.

Fakir had asked around, no-one had seen her anywhere. How could they have? She came up to your knee. So here he was, in the Town Square, like a chump with thirty minutes until the new year.

* * *

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to him, Ahiru was checking the Main Street yet again. No sign of Uzura. No sign of Fakir either. She sighed. This was hopeless, she couldn't see a thing in this crowd. It was like looking for a needle in a hay stack. Scratch that. It was like looking for a needle in a pile of needles.

"Oh, Ahiru!"

She turned around to find Pique pushing her way towards her, Lilie following closely behind.

"Hey!" She waved, moving to meet them in the middle.

Pique frowned, "Are you here aloneness?"

"Aw, how heartbreaking!" Lilie gushed, sympathetic as ever. "Abandoned, tossed aside, on New Year's of all things."

"No! No!" She began to shake her head frantically, needing to nip this in the bud. "I'm here with Fakir. But we lost our friend in the crowd so we're looking for her." Ahiru let out a sigh. "But it seems I've lost Fakir now as well." Her eyes searched the crowd again. Nothing.

"Who'd you lose?"

"Our friend Uzura."

Pique clicked her fingers. "Oh the short one?"

"Yes."

"With the green hair?"

"Yes."

"And the little toy drum?"

"Yes!" Ahiru's hopes picked up. "Have you seen her?"

"No."

And with that her hopes were dashed.

* * *

"Uzura? Uzura!" Fakir cupped his hands, calling out over the roar of the crowd. "Uzura! You here?" There was no reply, that's if you don't count odd looks from passerby's. He looked up to the clock. Twenty minutes until the new year. Great. Hopefully Ahiru was having better luck than he was. Though, knowing her, she was just as lost as Uzura was. Honestly, what was he going to do with them?

So caught up in his own thoughts, he didn't even notice Autor until he was tapping him on the shoulder. "Fakir? What are you doing?"

"Uzura's wandered off."

"Oh."

"You've not seen her have you?"

He pushed up his glasses. "Can't say I have I'm afraid." He thought to himself. "Have you checked all over the square?"

"Yeah, multiple times now."

"The streets?"

"Ahiru went to check them."

"Huh." He shrugged. "Well have you checked your house?"

Fakir bit his lip, suddenly very quiet.

Autor snorted. "Thought so."

* * *

Charon hadn't seen them either. Or Raetsel. Or Freya. Or Hermia. Or Lysander. Or Malen. No-one in the town square knew where either of them were.

They were running out of time. There were only fifteen minutes left until midnight. What was she supposed to do? Clearly running back and forth was going no-where. And her feet were killing her. She sat down on a nearby bench. Might as well wait.

* * *

Sure enough, Autor was right, not like Fakir was going to give him the satisfaction of telling him that.

He found her sitting out side the house, happily drumming away. He never got a straight answer about what exactly she'd been up to. Honestly, when it came to Uzura, he was never sure what was going in that head of her's. What mattered was that he'd found her.

Ten minutes until midnight. They could make it.

"Why are we walking so fast-zura?"

"Because we need to find Ahiru."

"Why-zura?"

"So that we're there for the countdown."

"Why-zura?"

Well, because obviously he wanted to, you know, do what people did at midnight. But he very well couldn't tell her that. There were certain things that girl didn't need to know. Or go blabbing.

He patted her head. "Because it's not fair to leave Ahiru all by herself to watch the fireworks, that's why."

Uzura went quiet for awhile as they approached the square. And Fakir thought he had gotten away with it. Until.

"Oh, I thought you wanted to be lovey-dovey -zura."

* * *

He asked Charon if he'd seen her. And Raetsel. And Freya. And Hermia. And Lysander. And Malen. They all had, but none of them knew where she was at the moment.

And they only had five minutes left now. Perfect, they'd never find her in time.

Uzura drummed away to a steady beat as she chanted. "Ahiru-zura! Ahiru-zura! Ahiru-zura!" But there was still no sign of her.

* * *

Four minutes to go.

What was the point? They'd never find each-other in time. Besides, it wasn't like they couldn't celebrate after the crowds had cleared a little bit. She wondered where Pique and Lilie were, she could wait for midnight with them.

That's when she heard it.

With only three minutes left, Fakir decides that the situation is hopeless.

That is until he hears a voice crying out his name across the crowd.

"Ahiru?" He turned around, confused. Then He heard her again. "Ahiru!" Picking up Uzura and tucking her under his arm (no way in hell he was letting her wander off again) he started pushing his way through the crowd, closer and closer towards the clock tower.

* * *

There are only two minutes left when she finds them.

It was all just coincidental really. They were just going back and forth until they eventually, quite literally, bumped in the middle.

"Uzura!" She exclaims, kneeling down in front of her. "Are you okay? Why did you wander off?"

Fakir just pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head. "Just don't, don't even ask."

"Fakir must be really happy we found you-zura." Uzura chirped.

"Oh really?" Ahiru turned to Fakir, clearly amused. "Were you worried?"

Fakir turned away, suddenly flustered. "N-no. It's just knowing you, you could've gotten yourself hurt or something." Good god, that pipsqueak had better not say anything else.

But Ahiru just smiled at him, totally unconvinced. "Well, looks like we found each-other just in time."

"Yeah."

"Great."

"Good."

"Swell."

That's when the countdown started.

"Twelve! Eleven!"

Uzura reached up and tugged on his ear, complaining that she couldn't see.

"Ten! Nine!"

Fakir hefted her up onto his shoulders.

"Eight! Seven!"

Ahiru just laughed as Uzura rested her drum on the top of his head.

"Six! Five!"

He raised a brow at her, smiling as he joined in with the cheering.

"Four! Three!"

She started to join in also, their eyes all fixed on the clock face.

"Two! One!"

Ahiru linked her arm with his.

"Happy New Year!"

They watched in awe as the sky exploded into colour. People burst out into deafening cheers. Someone had brought streamers. The entire Town Square was ecstatic as they welcomed in the new year.

* * *

They walked home in silence, Uzura tottering on ahead of them.

It had been 5 months since the-what-they-now-refer-to-as 'Pigeon Incindent' and since he'd accidentally said it. They hadn't really addressed it Instead they'd done the opposite, just pretending like it never happened. So things between them weren't awkward. Nor were they weird. In fact nothing has really changed.

And still, as they neared their street, Ahiru felt like they'd missed an opportunity. Sure it was cliché. Fakir probably wouldn't even consider it, calling her a moron for thinking it. But still, it was New Year's Eve and a lot of effort went into those fireworks and she was wearing her nicest dress and he was looking as handsome and she had earned this dammit.

And so, before she lost her resolve, she stopped, grabbing his sleep as she did. He turned to her, question on his lips but before a word could be spoken she was on her tip-toes and kissing him. It wasn't that spectacular a kiss. If she had to be honest she'd gotten the angle wrong, bumping their noses. But it was nice, for a first kiss. Fakir kept his hands to his sides throughout, caught off guard and not really knowing what to do with them. And when they parted for air, she turned around and dragged him with her, acting as if nothing had happened.

Fakir didn't say anything for the remainder of the journey home, stunned into silence. So he didn't complain when she kept her fingers laced in his. Nor did he acknowledge Uzura when she asked why his face was so red all of the sudden. In fact it didn't seem to sink in what they had just done until they had closed the front door. And then next thing he knew he had her up against the wall, hands cupping her face and was giving her her second kiss, then her third kids and then then he began to lose track.

When they broke apart they just stood there for a while, foreheads rested against each other, lips almost touching. Nothing needed to be said. That was, until a thought occurred to him.

"Completely ruining the moment I know, but next year we're putting a leash on that kid."


	6. Future

He lives for the moments like this.

He was always the first wake up, perks of being an early-riser. And in those few minutes to himself, as the morning sun bathes their room in its rays, he just watches her, transfixed.

God, she was such a cover-hog. Sprawled on her front with an arm and a leg splayed on his chest, definitely taking up more than half of the bed. Her hair was shorter now, coming down just past her shoulders. "It's just easier to manage." She had told him. He liked it, though with her, what wouldn't he like? A few stray red locks tickled his nose, his face inches from her's.

Gently, he brushed away the bangs covering her face. She always looked so young when she slept,

even now. All the tension gone from her face, her breathing steady. It was so peaceful. Except for the tiny bit of drool that was slowly dribbling from her mouth.

He turned to rest on his side, kissing her shoulder as he did. She scrunched her nose, clearly confused at the loss of heat. Her leg found its way between his as her hand gripped his shirt. He chuckled to himself at the sight of her.

God he loved her. He didn't even know when it had happened really. It was a gradual thing, falling in love with someone. There was no big moment nor some grand epiphany. Just the thought one day occurring to him that he didn't want to spend a single day without this person. Here was the one thing he couldn't bear to lose. Someone who he would stand by for as long as he was able.

When he had pictured his future, he had never thought life would end up like this. Married to a girl who was once a duck, fixating on and amazed by her every little detail, a total goner. Now here he was, in bed, totally fine with letting said girl use him as a human pillow.

They stayed like that for another minute. Before a sudden cry snapped them back to reality. And just as soon as it had begun the spell was broken.

Ahiru groaned, showing no signs of intending to get up. "It's your turn." She mumbled, burying her face I her pillows. He didn't argue, kissing her cheek as he untangled himself from her. As soon as he was out of the bed, she was curling towards the warm spot he had left and pulling his share of blanket in. Like I said, cover-hog.

When he entered the nursery, he was greeted by a dark-haired toddler standing up in his cot. The crying stop instantly at the sight of him. Mytho cooed as he reached his chubby hands out to him. "Papa!" He beamed as Fakir lifted him up and out of the crib. He seemed to have all the best qualities of his mother; her eyes, her freckles, her sunny disposition. Hopefully he didn't have her dancing abilities but only time would tell.

Ahiru joined them in the kitchen as he made Mytho his breakfast. She kissed his cheek before going to check on the baby on the high-chair. She listened to him babble away, completely invested as she does. And as the sight of the two of them smiling and laughing unfolds in front of him, the joy on their faces clear as day, Fakir realised that this has to be one of his favourite moments as well.

Yeah, life was pretty swell.


	7. Partners

Two days after it all happened, she comes to visit him.

She stood in the doorway, unsure of herself. How this scrawny little thing was the same girl who took on Princess Kraehe only a matter of days ago escaped him. Ahiru scratched the back of her head. "So uh, how are you doing?"

He doesn't get up, instead he had been in bed rest all day and he wasn't doing that for her. "Well considering I'm covered in bruises, my right hand is killing me and I was repeatedly assaulted by a bunch of crows - not as bad as I expected."

She smiled softly, stepping inside and closing the door behind her. "Oh, I'm glad. You really had me worried for me a second there." She crossed the room and sat on Mytho's bed across from him.

"Well, thank you for the concern." He turned his head to look at her. At least she was in better shape than he was. With him on bedrest, she was his only eyes and ears to what was going on. "Any sign of her yet?"

Her blue eyes dropped to the floor, obviously disappointed. "No. And I looked everywhere. Her room, the classrooms, the town - she's gone." How could this have happened? Rue was her friend and she was so sweet and so kind, this had to be a mistake. Ahiru didn't care what Kraehe said, Rue was still in there somewhere, she had to be.

He brushed some hair out of his eyes. "Well at least there's some good news. We haven't got Kraehe to worry about at this very moment."

She gave a defeated sigh. "I guess."

After that they fell into an awkward silence, neither not really knowing what to say. Come to think of it, when had they ever just had a casual conversation? And so they just stayed like that for some time. Until finally he said it.

"So you're a duck."

"Yep."

"An actual duck."

"Yep."

"An honest to god duck."

"Yep."

"And you are also Princess Tutu?"

"Yep."

"So how does that work?" He sat up, groaning as he did. That was a mistake. "I mean, were you cursed? Did you piss off a witch? Did you make a wish? Explain it to me. Talk me through how this." He gestured to all of her. "-happened."

And so she told him everything. Watching Mytho dance, wanting to see him smile, Drosselmeyer's proposition, the pendant's abilities, not knowing about Princess Tutu's fate when she had agreed to the job. All of it.

It took some time, but Fakir managed to wrap his around it. "So whenever you quack, you turn back into a duck and when you get splashed with water you turn back into a girl?"

"Exactly." A thought struck her. "Oh, and I turn back into a duck when I'm not touching the pendant too." She shrugged. "But you already knew that part."

He just stared at her, dumbfounded. Yep, this was his life. Murderous crows. Heartless princes. Ducks turning into girls and in turn into magical ballerina princesses. Great.

"It's a lot to take in I know."

He shook her off. "No, in fact a lot of things that have happened make a lot more sense now." She did seem to disappear a lot, he did often see her near bodies of water and there was that one time he could've sworn he saw her arguing with a pigeon. "Who else knows about all this?"

Ahiru went quiet, counting the names on her hand. "Well, there's me, Mr Drosselmeyer, Miss Edel, Rue and, well, you."

Wow, that was a lot of stuff to keep to yourself.

That was when she noticed him fiddling with his hand. "Is it hurting you?"

He looked down, not even realising what he had been doing. "Oh, no, it's fine. It just needs redressing."

"Do you need some help?"

"Leave it, I can just go to-"

But before he could protest, she was already up and in the drawer, fishing out the bandages. Then she was fetching a bowl of water and a clean cloth. Finally she sat beside him on the bed. "It's my fault this happened you in the first place, this is the least I can do." Gently, she took his hand in her and began to unwrap the bandages. He observed in silence (read: a huff) as she began to wipe the wound clean. She caught his eye and smiled."It's okay to ask for help you know."

That caught him off guard. Even now, after everything, she was still helping him. Idiot, never thinking for herself. Don't ducks need rest too? That was when he finally made up his mind. And he figured now was as good a time as any to mention it. So as she began to wrap the clean gauze around the wound, he cleared his throat.

"So listen. Mytho wants to have his heart restored to him and I need to respect his wishes and since you're the only one who can give him his heart back." He sighed, defeated. "It looks like it would make sense for us to co-operate."

Her hands stopped. Wow, she really hadn't seen that one coming. Sure they had teamed up to rescue Mytho from Kraehe, but they didn't have any other options that time. Now he was the one on suggesting it? "Really? You and me?"

"Yes." He motioned for her to keep going. Either she was playing doctor or she wasn't. "Rue knows that we know she's Princess Kraehe, we have more of a chance against her if we work together." He avoided her gaze, embarrassed to admit it. "And besides, we made a pretty good team down there."

Ahiru beamed at this and he did everything he could to ignore the slight twinge in his chest that smile gave him. "I guess we did huh?" She mused. With one final loop, her task was done. She cut the excess bandages off and went to put everything else away. He examined her handiwork, it wasn't that bad. Though, given that this was Ahiru, he wouldn't put it past her to have a lot of practice with this sort of thing. When she was done tidying up, she returned to her spot by the bed and extended her hand to him. "So, I guess this makes us partners then huh?"

He looked at her hand, the weight of what it represented hitting him. This was teaming with the girl who only a month ago he considered the biggest threat to Mytho's safety. This was teaming up with the girl who hated his very guts. This was teaming up with the girl who after all they had been through, all the harsh words they had shared, had trusted him enough to tell him the truth about who and what she was. There was no going back from this. They were in this for the long haul.

"Yeah." He took her hand and shook it. "For the time being."

* * *

 **Well that's us. Thank you all for all your support! I hope you liked it and don't forget to review!**


End file.
